Researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have developed a new saliva test to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus faster and easier. The results from this diagnostic test are available in a few hours, and therefore easily communicated to people who were tested within the day. The test does not require special swabs or reagents that may be in short supply because it is highly sensitive to detecting even tiny levels of virus in a saliva sample.

Many scientists have become increasingly concerned with the course and status of science-related policies in recent years, and these concerns have only grown in the past months as governments have had to face a global pandemic. As experts in our respective fields, scientists have an obligation and an opportunity to help to inform science policy.

A systemic analysis of the role that climate, natural resource and food systems play in conflict and peace is key to design and implement interventions addressing and preventing conflict. This document is one part of the 6-policy note outputs from the CGIAR Climate Security Webinar Series. These notes summarize the key messages made during the webinar panel discussion.

The Nyagatare district (Eastern Province) is Rwanda’s breadbasket - a vast area of agricultural land providing food for the entire country. The people of this district are mainly farmers, rearing livestock and cultivating crops such as maize and rice, but they suffer a long dry season stretching from June to mid-September and, consequently, water has always been a vital, much sought-after resource - with competition for it high.

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, QU Dongyu, today congratulated Roberto Azevêdo on his service as Director-General of the World Trade Organization and paid tribute to his efforts to strengthen co-operation between the two agencies.

Scientists from the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization of Japan and partners showed that DEEPER ROOTING 1 (DRO1) homologs could be useful for the controlled breeding of root system architectures that are adapted to abiotic stress conditions caused by climate change. The research article is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).

Scientists from Alagappa University in India conducted a study to analyze the performance of insect resistant Bt cotton in rainfed areas. The results are published in Agricultural Economics Research Review 2020. Bt cotton is the only genetically engineered crop approved for planting in India. To fully understand its performance, farm-level data from 150 sample farmers cultivating cotton in rainfed areas in Tamil Nadu were collected.

A new study conducted by researchers at MassBiologics of UMass Medical School reveals that COVID specific IgA monoclonal antibodies may provide effective immunity in the respiratory system against the novel coronavirus. Sixteen years ago, MassBiologics developed an IgG monoclonal antibody that was effective against the first SARS virus that caused alarming illness. But then it disappeared, and MassBiologics, which was ready at the time to initiate a clinical trial, saved the research materials associated with that work.

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences researchers evaluated the potential benefit of the weak functional version of Semi Dwarf 1 (SD1) gene from japonica rice on yield improvement in the indica rice background. The findings are reported in Molecular Breeding. In the 1960s, the Green Revolution introduced semi-dwarf rice cultivars that had decreased lodging and improved harvest indexes, wherein SD1 was the gene involved in improving the rice yield.

In May of this year, the Multilateral Organisation Performance Assessment Network (MOPAN) released its first assessment of CGIAR. CGIAR’s formal response, published today, highlights significant progress made to date and future improvements planned, using the assessment as guidance for ensuring that One CGIAR can deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda.